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y ~ ~ S tm m C apokewm Mess nanaiinncacniter c w _ P f " / # ',/ Ce / & '/(: /K/¢l e * /5 e 4 6/ _ ! t t west and anothe re in the east ' é | party. At all events, they had made full || whore a judge shou'id :&n(t;nce a month. If | | Y l :::t(i'ttn:::l:s:i,w:{:e wchl;rx?lgsown:::izp';:";xci: the Attorney--General would make these fron. :neall Lotali gf ded M | changes he would tind that they would meet A | hon. miend were Sotally. unfounded. | with the approval of the profession and be | MR. ROS§' ENERCETIC SPEECH, in the interests of the suitor. ' } Hon. UG. W. Ross said the hon. member Mr, Mowat said that ever since he came ( s | was not fair in charging the Government | into office he had endeamvored to effect a | f | with playing with the temperance ques-- | fusion of the courts. His bill to that effect | tion. _ Scarcely a session | had passed | in 1873 received no support from the bench hy § without some increased legislation being | or from the bar. The reforms inaugurated i ; given in the interests of this movement. | in 1873 worked well and prepared the way . "I Within the last tem or fifteen years the | for the fusion accomplished under the judi-- e whole license system of this Province was | cature more than ten years later, _ More P 2) changed. At whose request* At the re-- | fusion was needecd, and he was in communi-- quest' Of the liqllor intul'e't? Not, at E", ca',ion with several judges regarding ]L' y but in response to the representations of | As for the consolidation of the circuits, P t«he tempera.n('e elemfint/. Legi!latiun had hlr' Lleredxth was wrong in sayiug the pro. \p been passed of a wise and beneficial charac-- | fession was unanimous in desiring it. He $ ter, and the Government had the conti--| had a communication from a prominent t dence of the temperance people of this | lawyer who was strongly opposed to it. * Province. That was the cause of | There was no actual correspondence with & this new--found zeal, 'The fact that the | the judges. His idea was that after collect-- d hon, gentleman had spent a week in trying | ing the views of the judges he should wait $ to elect a brewer to the House of Commons#s | on them personally and no doubt they F | was not a very good evidence of the gen-- | would be able fo remove muny of the anom-- ® | uineness of his desire in this direction. (Ap-- | alies, It was most unreasonable to expect [ E: | plause.) If he had espoused the cause of | a consolidation to increase the salaries. 'i he § temperance candidates for Parliament, then | Dominion Government would not be influ-- f ' there would be some evidence of his sin-- | enced by any such consideration. The J B cerity. 'Then the hon. gentleman had | Dominion Government was favorable to an + charged the Government with plotbin% the | increase of salaries, but there were diffi-- P || defeat of the Scott Act, but he must have ' culties in the way because of the 3 completely forgotten the record. What | condition of affairs in other Provinces. | was done by this Province ? In Nova | He would go in heartily for complete fusion | Scotia and New Brunswick the Dominion | and a removal of all anomalies and a | . ' Government was allowed to enforce this| prompty despatch of business. He wasmost 6 act, while in Ontario the act was | anxious to prevent delay. He hoped and [ ' taken up and the fullest machinery was | expected to be able to get such a revision provided for the carrying out of its regula-- ; of the rules by the judges themselves as to" 6 { tions. The old license commissioners were | remove these difficuities. His object could | retained, special officers were appointed | be rccomplished without legisiation. He f and a vote of from $10,000 to $20,000 was | preferred the other course to any changes P0 taken yearly to promote its efficiency. by means of legislation. CF) Looking at this question from the stand-- Mr. Whitney regretted that the Attor-- NHl point of a temperance man, he believed that | | ney.General had not alluded to Mr. Mere: o no CGiovernment had ever done more ftor the | | gith's suggestion regarding the sitting of ' cause of temperance than the Ontario Gov-- | | the Divisional Courts at two points, one # ernment. ln adopting this temperance | | eastand one west of Toronto. The atmos-- f: legislation, it had almost taken its life in its | | phere of Toronto seemed to choke off any [ hands by opposing the power of the liquor suggestion of decentralisation. _ But it . tratlic. It was in the face of all this they | | would come. were told they should go the whole length | _ My, Meredith said that this matter could of prohibition, in order that the hon. mem-- I be dealt with only by legislation. One of | ber might adopt some scheme for attaining | the curses of legal procedure was the num-- w , | power. _ a | ber of appeals practicable, rendering liti-- i ' The motion was adopted without further gation ruinously expensive. Some thought discussion. _ $ a strong Divisional Court and the abolition J# Mr. Meredith moved for areturn of copies _ of the Court of Appeal would remedy this, 5 of all correspondence with the Attorney-- _ p thought it was a mistake to give out General or his department on the subject Of _ the idea that the Legislature had handed q the fusion of the several divisions of the _ oyer the control of the courts to the judges. t High Court of Justice and of changes in Mr. Mowat said that such a suggestion | t the practice of the said court, and in the as polding an eastern and western Divi-- | 3 provisions for holding sittings for the trial _ s;onal Court had not been made before, but e\ of actions, and otherwise with regard to the . ;, might be considered. There was a great § . distribution of the business of the courts | deal to be said in its favor. The suggestion E. with a view to the more speedy despatch of regarding the number of appeals was also a 1 such business. He said there was now a | good one, The motion was then adopted. f great waste of judicial power and a con. | Mr. Meredith moved for copies of all cor-- $ gested state of business in Toronto retard-- | respondence with reference to the appoint-- ing the early disposition of business much | ment of commissioners to open this House R B ~| to the inconvenience of suitors. He did | ay j3 present session or otherwise in regard 4 ' not agrese with the statements of some that to the opening of the House by some other 1 f 1 the present judicial staff was not sufficient. than his Honor the Lieutenant--Governor. z He thought it was suflicient if the work He said that his object was to get at the £ was properly distributed. There should be arguments which the Attorney--General had 4 f a consolidation of the cireuits. 'The profes-- stated he addressed to the muthorities at | PCO sion was unanimous that the time had ar-- Ottawa regarding the powor of the Licuten-- | P rivea for a fusion of the several divisions Of | -- jntg.(Governor to appoint commissioners to . the High Court of Justice, but there were open the House. 'The question was a seri-- 4 difficulties in the way. 'The present salary ous one and involved some cases now before f ' of the judges was wholly inadequate. the courts as to how far the power of the $ He knew of one judge whose house rent Lieutenant Governor extends,. It was an-- alone took one--fourth of his salary, and if omalous that the _ Lisutenant--Governor | it were not for his private means he could | \p ou{q have the power to appoint a commis-- not live upon his salary in a style fitting sion for such a purpose. 1t he had, then it the dignity of a jm]gc-._ 'The 'Imgnslnturu would be within the power of the Lieuten-- sought to insist on ufuulon and this would ant--Governor practically to create a Gover-- \ lead to an increase of salary from Ut}m}'n. nor of the Province, a thing which was Then Toronto should have a court sitting | ; ay,, contemplated at Confederation. all the time to try cases without a jury, Mr. Mowat said that the telegram he just as in Buffalo and other places no larger sent to Ottawa necessarily contained only thun Toronto. 'This was the only way t0 | jgome of the reasons, briefly stated, obviate delay, _ As it is at present, suitors why he |thought the -- Lieutenant-- from the east and from the west ends | (;pyorpor -- could appoint _a _ commis-- of the Province have to come all the sioner for such purpose. He had pre-- way to Toronto, losing at leasb_ three pured a paper setting out his views more \ days. _ He proposed m centre in the fully and would present it to the House. , ons C *